The Howard Bison football team represents

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

(FCS) level as a member of the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National C ...

(MEAC).

History

;First FBS Victory On September 2, 2017, Howard football reached a milestone by defeating their first FBS opponent in program history. The Bison defeated the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for college football) as a member of the Mountain West Confe ...

43–40 in

Sam Boyd Stadium Sam Boyd Stadium (formerly the Las Vegas Silver Bowl) is a football stadium in the western United States, located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas Valley. It honors Sam Boyd (1910–1993), a major figure in the hot ...

. As of September 2017, Howard's victory against UNLV is the biggest point-spread upset in college football history, with UNLV being a 45.5 point favorite.

Classifications

*1937–1972: NCAA College Division *1973–1977: NCAA Division II *1978–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

Conference memberships

*1893–1911: Independent *1912–1970:

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. CIAA institutions mostly consist of historically black coll ...

*1971–present:

Championships

National championships

Conference championships

See Note A

Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results

The Bison have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs one time with an overall record of 0–1.

College Football Hall of Fame members

Willie Jeffries Willie E. Jeffries (born January 4, 1937) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at South Carolina State University for 19 seasons in two stints, five seasons at Wichita State University, and five sea ...

Doug Porter Douglas T. Porter (born August 15, 1929) is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at Mississippi Valley State University (1961–1965), Howard University (1974–1978), and Fort Valley S ...

Alumni in the NFL

Over 20 Howard alumni have played in the NFL, including: *

Ron Bartell Ronald Bartell (born February 22, 1982) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Central Michigan University and Howard. Early years ...

Antoine Bethea Antoine Akeem Bethea (; born July 27, 1984) is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for Howard and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round o ...

Marques Douglas Marques Lamont Douglas (; born March 5, 1977, in Greensboro, North Carolina) is a former American football defensive tackle and defensive end who played for five teams in the National Football League during an 11-year career. He was signed by the ...

Omar Evans Omar Evans (born September 1, 1976, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is a former Canadian Football League defensive back who has played for the Montreal Alouettes, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Achievements ...

Derrick Faison Derrick Faison (August 24, 1967 June 27, 2004) is a former professional American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams o ...

Rupert Grant Rupert Grant (born November 5, 1973 in Washington, D.C., United States ) is a former Arena Football League fullback/linebacker most recently with the now defunct Nashville Kats. His nickname is "Dogghead". During his time in the AFL, Grant h ...

Gary Harrell Gary Lamar Harrell, affectionately known as "The Flea," (born January 23, 1972) is an American college football coach and former professional gridiron football player. He is currently the assistant head coach and running backs coach at the Univ ...

John Javis John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

* Billy Jenkins *

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

Troy Kyles Troy Thomas Kyles (born August 13, 1968 in Lorain, Ohio) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He attended Howard University. He was with the New York Giants in 1990 and the San Francisco 49ers ...

Greg Pope Gregory James Pope (born 29 August 1960) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hyndburn from 1992, until retiring at the general election of 2010. He was a government whip from 1997 until 2001. Early ...

* Herman Redden * Robert Sowell *

Leonard Stephens Leonard Stephens (born July 9, 1978) is a former American football tight end. He played high school football at West Windsor Plainsboro High School in Princeton Junction, New Jersey and college football at Howard University. He was signed by ...

* Brandon Torrey *

Sean Vanhorse Sean Joseph Vanhorse (born July 22, 1968) is a former professional American football cornerback for five seasons for the San Diego Chargers, the Detroit Lions, and the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League. His collegiate career was ...

* Jay Walker *

Tim Watson Timothy Michael Watson (born 13 July 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After retiring from the game, he has continued working in the Australian footb ...

* David Westbrook *

Jose White Jose Cornelius White (March 2, 1973 – October 2019) was an American football defensive tackle who played two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round o ...

* Tracy White * Gary Willingham *

Marques Ogden Marques Ogden (born November 15, 1980) is a former American football offensive tackle and center. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He had stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Baltimore Ravens, the Buffalo Bills, a ...

* Steve Wilson

Rivals

Howard's top rival is

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

. The two schools call their intense rivalry '' Battle of "The Real HU"''. Howard also has a strong rivalry with

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

in the

Howard–Morgan State football rivalry The rivalry between the Howard Bison and Morgan State Bears is a matchup between two HBCU schools, one of the oldest rivalries in black college football. The series started in 1899. The Bison won the first game in 1899, 71 to 0. They continu ...

. Another of Howard's historic rivals is

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, more popularly known as the ''Howard/"Spel-House"'' rivalry due to Morehouse's close association with the all-women's HBCU

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

. This rivalry is not often played because Morehouse is a Division II athletic program, while Howard is Division I. A new rivalry has developed between Howard and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. The two schools compete in a contest called The DC Cup. Currently, Georgetown holds a 2–1 series lead in the contest.

Notes

:A.Howard went 9–1 and won the MEAC championship in 1987, however a later investigation by Howard University and MEAC found that coach Willie Jeffries used ineligible players. All wins from the 1987 season were vacated and the MEAC Championship was transferred to

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four colle ...

, who had been the runner-up. :B.Rayford Petty was an assistant coach under Gary Harrell in 2011 and 2012. Gary Harrell stepped away from coaching Howard for the 2013 season for personal reasons, but remained under contract as the head coach to return in 2014. Rayford Petty was promoted to head coach for the 2013 season only, in a temporary role.

References

External links

* {{Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1893 1893 establishments in Washington, D.C.